The arrival of Jim Ratcliffe at the head of Manchester United has not improved the situation of the club, which finds itself very far from its historic rivals, Liverpool, who they face this Sunday.
Roster cuts, fan discontent, inconsistent strategy and discouraging sporting results have left Manchester United, the most successful club in English Football, wallowing in a disgraceful position of fourteenth place heading into matchday 20. , twenty-three points behind “the Anfield enemy”, as Ratcliffe described them upon his arrival. The billionaire, who owns 29% of the shares and is responsible for football operations, expressed his intention to compete with Manchester City, the “noisy neighbor”, and Liverpool, “the other neighbor”, within “three years”.
Ratcliffe’s first year at the helm of the club does not inspire much optimism among Old Trafford supporters, disturbed by some of the septuagenarian’s controversial decisions. The boss of the chemical group Ineos has, in fact, controversially increased ticket prices for subscribers during the season, eliminating discounts for children and retirees.
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“This has created a significant divide with the supporter base, and the club must urgently act to repair the damage,” responded the Manchester United Supporters Trust. Demonstrations even took place a month ago in front of Old Trafford, the “theater of dreams”, a nickname which now seems outdated.
Internally, the new management eliminated around 250 positions, particularly among low-wage workers with long seniority, and canceled the staff Christmas party. The club’s funding has been reduced, according to Sky News, and financial support given to the former players’ association has been terminated, according to The Sun. This has not helped the popularity of Ratcliffe, who is the richest man in England.
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“We have to make difficult and unpopular decisions,” he admitted in December to the fanzine United We Stand. The club, judged “mediocre”, must “save every pound” if it hopes to regain its former glory, insisted this Brexit supporter. However, this is a tough pill to swallow for the fans in the stands, especially considering the meager return on investment made by management so far.
The almost 240 million euros spent during the summer transfer window (including Leny Yoro, Manuel Ugarte, Matthijs de Ligt, Noussair Mazraoui and Joshua Zirkzee) did not lead to any sporting improvement. Likewise, the extra €10 million spent in November to snatch Ruben Amorim from Sporting made no difference.
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The management of the former coach, Erik ten Hag, also did not reflect well on Ratcliffe and his associates. The Dutchman remained in charge despite a disastrous 2023-24 Premier League campaign (finishing eighth) and Champions League performance (one win in six games). His FA Cup title earned him an extension in July, but he was ultimately sacked at the end of October.
More than two months later, the Amorim team still occupies fourteenth place in the Premier League, suffering a series of disappointments: three consecutive defeats in the league and a series of seven goals conceded without scoring a single one.
The 39-year-old coach arrived with a new 3-4-3 tactical system, the same one that allowed him to shine in Portugal, but it is not necessarily adapted to the Manchester squad. The timing of his arrival, just before the frenzy of end-of-year matches, did not leave him with much time on the training pitch, something he often lamented.
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